46%. That's the non-compliance rate for textile and apparel samples from online channels in the latest EU special surveillance report. Brick-and-mortar stores fared slightly better at 36%. More striking is the violation rate for natural-synthetic blended fabrics, which surged to 64%—nearly two out of three blended products had labels inconsistent with actual fiber composition.
The data comes from the EU Internal Market Directorate-General's final report on consumer textile and apparel surveillance, published in May 2026. It summarizes results from the JACOP 2025 Product Safety Action 6, conducted by 10 member state market surveillance authorities, testing 132 garment samples including babywear, tops, sleepwear, and sportswear.
Violation Profile: Blends Are the Hotspot, Online Risk Doubles
By category, tops and babywear saw the highest violation rates. By fiber type, a clear gradient emerged: pure single natural fiber products had the lowest non-compliance at 15%; multi-natural fiber blends rose to 46%; natural-synthetic blends jumped to 64%.
The report classified 49 non-compliant samples into low, medium, and high risk based on composition deviation. Core issues included systematic substitution of high-cost natural fibers with cheap synthetics, false or missing fiber declarations, and incorrect labeling terminology or order. This is not just a labeling error—consumers pay for natural fiber quality but receive synthetic products, harming both economic interests and fair competition.
All non-compliant products were entered into the EU ICSMS cross-border surveillance system. Member states enforced measures including mandatory withdrawal, re-labeling, supplier interviews, and additional warning labels. 24 batches are still under corrective action.
Regulatory Gaps: Traceability and Scope
The report identified two major governance gaps. First, missing manufacturer information for imported textiles makes traceability difficult—when composition fraud is detected, regulators often cannot trace back to the source factory. Second, current surveillance covers only finished garments, not intermediate products like greige fabric, meaning fabric-level violations may only be caught at the final stage, missing early intervention opportunities.
These points are particularly relevant for Chinese textile exporters. If manufacturer info is incomplete, a failed inspection can lead to market bans and blacklisting in the ICSMS system, affecting future market access.
Labeling Regulation Revision: Three Delays Amidst Negotiations
This special surveillance action likely prepares the ground for the final release of the Textile Labeling Regulation revision. Initiated after the 2022 EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, the revision was originally scheduled for a draft proposal by end-2023 but has been delayed three times.
The first delay occurred in 2023 when the Commission only completed preliminary work. The second came in 2025 when the proposal was removed from the annual legislative plan, rescheduled to Q2 2026. The third delay happened in 2026, with no official text released to date.
Based on published documents, the new regulation is expected to introduce: a hybrid "physical label + digital label" model linked to digital product passports; expanded disclosure including origin, care instructions, sustainability, circular economy attributes, durability, repairability, and recyclability; updated fiber nomenclature for bio-based and chemically recycled fibers; and unified garment size and care label rules.
Impact on Supply Chains
For Chinese textile exporters, compliance costs will rise significantly. Digital product passports require data recording and transmission from fiber source through each production stage, demanding digital data management systems. Every link from spinning, weaving, dyeing to garment making must ensure data authenticity and traceability.
Extending surveillance to intermediate products like greige fabric means fabric suppliers will also face direct compliance pressure. Where only garment factories were required to provide labels, fabric mills may soon need to issue composition test reports and traceability data for each batch.